Balance and Sacrifice
by brownsam
Summary: This story takes place several months after season 4, Korra is probending again, and future industries is facing its toughest competition yet. It's main characters are Korra and Asami, but but there are interludes of other characters as well. I will try to write two chapters every 3 weeks or so and publish them afterwards. Hope you enjoy!
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Asami!" shouted Bolin as he sprinted towards the Sato estate, his Heart was pounding in his ears and his legs burned. He paused at the front gate just long enough to vault himself over with earth bending, ignoring the sharp pain in his side. He landed hard, stopping only for a moment before sprinting on. He could have bent a chute to catch himself, or raised a platform of earth to soften the fall. But that would have taken time, and right now, he had no time to waste.

"Asami!" he yelled, as he flung open the front door to the mansion. Inside Yao Fung, the Sato's butler, jumped at the unexpected intrusion.

"May I help you master Bolin?" Yao said, looking startled. The butler's eyes quickly darted to Bolin's side, concern replacing his normally apathetic look. "S...Sir! Are you alright? You're hurt!"

"Where is… Asami?" Bolin shouted between heavy breaths, ignoring the question "Something… we found out!"

"I… She's… She's indisposed right now" Said Yao. Regaining his composure. He took a step towards the kitchen to retrieve the medical kit "Let me tend to your side while someone fetches…"

Before the butler could finish, Bolin had closed the distance between them. Grabbing the startled man's lapel he yelled, "This is an emergency…. I don't have time." His voice grew more frantic "Trust me, she is going to want to be interrupted! Now tell me where she is... Please!"

The look of panic on the young earthbender's face was evident, as was the stench of blood and sweat. The dark red stain on his left side clung to his skin, dripping blood onto the ground.

The butler paused for a moment in surprise, then raised a hand and pointed above them, "She's in her private quarters. But sir you're hurt let me stich that for you." but his words fell on deaf ears as Bolin had already begun to run towards the stairs.


	2. Chapter 1: The Road to Recovery

Chapter 1

The Road to Recovery

It was already dark when Asami decided she had done enough work for the day. "I'm too brain dead to think anymore." She groaned as she rubbed her eyes. Her desk was covered in blue prints of prototypes and papers stamped 'URGENT' in bright red letters. She sank into her office chair. The day had worn her out. Despite the fact that she had been working from dawn until dusk, she hadn't made any progress; it was beginning to feel like a pattern.

She wasn't used to being stumped. Since she could remember there was never a technical problem she couldn't solve with an all-nighter and a favorite record. But with her latest project, after months, she was still stuck. _I'm exhausted,_ she thought, swiveling toward the floor to ceiling window wall behind the desk of her new office. She had been there for a week, but was still getting accustom to the place. It was on the 9th floor of Future Industries' new headquarters. The old one was destroyed by Kuvira's attack on the city, and for 7 months, she had to work out of an old warehouse nearby the docks. The view of the bay was nice, but the constant smell of fish pushed Asami to get the new building up as fast as possible.

She gazed down from her window at her city and it's busy streets. For a moment, the bustle of the city vanished and she saw a flash of the chaos that first ensued after the battle. The streets that children now played in were rubble. Workers and volunteers with brightlamps were searching for survivors in the debris. Despite their best efforts to evacuate the city, tens of thousands of people were still trapped inside when Kuvira's weapon attacked. She shuttered when she thought of it, thinking of the bright purple beam that destroyed ships and pulverized buildings. The thunderous sound it made when it fired had caused her whole body to vibrate. Often that sensation would be the only thing she remembered when she woke up from her night terrors. She also tried unsuccessfully not to think of her father and how he died. Her mind replaying the moment he ejected her from the Hummingbird Machine, and worse, when the Kuvira's machine killed him.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, a knot was forming in her stomach and was threatening to cripple her. She took a deep breath and tried to think about all the good that happened in her life since the attack, the recovery, the peace treaty, the wedding, Korra.

_Korra…_ She thought, the knot in her stomach fading at the thought of the Avatar. Her thoughts flew back to her vacation in the spirit world. When she had spent two weeks lounging in natural springs, meeting spirits, playing Pai Sho with Iroh, and, most importantly, spending time alone with Korra. She smiled internally, Images of her girlfriend flooded her mind. Her short hair, her soothing voice, her muscular back, her soft lips…

"Ms. Sato? Ms. Sato?"

Asami snapped back to reality at the sound of her assistant. "Hu? Oh, uh, whatever it is Haio, it can wait until tomorrow." She turned to face her desk, putting some of the days work in a take home bag. "I'm going home for the evening."

"It's Avatar Korra Ms. Sato. She's being rather…instant."

Asami's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her girlfriend's name. "Oh! Let her in please." Her mood instantly changing from worn out and tired, to cheerful. Haio nodded reluctantly and bid the Avatar come in.

"Korra!" Asami exclaimed.

"Hey beautiful." said Korra as she strolled in, giving Haio an _I told you so _look as she passed.

The two girls embraced, Korra standing briefly on her toes for a kiss hello, sending a familiar jolt through Asami's body. She was wearing a long blue water tribe dress, with white fur lining around her hips and shoulders. _She looks beautiful _Asami thought, unable to stop her eyes from wandering.

_I'm a lucky woman_.

"Hey yourself." Said Asami with a smile, "what's the occasion? You never come see me at work." She wrapped her arms around Korra. "And never wearing something so…" she searched for the right word as her hands moved down to the small of the avatar's back "sexy."

Korra blushed and laced her fingers behind Asami's neck "I had the ambassadors dinner tonight. Afterwards, I guessed you would still be at the office, so I asked Tenzin to drop me off here." She leaned up on her toes "You like the dress then?"

"Very much s.." Asami managed to murmur just before the avatar interrupted with a kiss. Immediately, she felt a familiar spark spreading from her feet to her head, making her dizzy and warm faced. She pulled Korra as close as she could manage, pressing their bodies together seamlessly. She could feel the muscles on Korra's back, and could smell the faint scent the ocean on her skin. She wished the two of them could stay there forever, breaking apart only after she thought she might fall over from vertigo. She leaned back against her desk, not yet willing to release her girlfriend, and signed contentedly.

"Are you done for the night?" Korra asked hopefully, nodding towards Asami's half packed bag.

"Mhmm, your timing is excellent" Her stomach made a loud rumbling noise, she frowned "I don't suppose anything is open this late?"

"The only place I know is Zhou's fast eats, but I don't think that's what you're looking for."

Asami wrinkled her nose and chuckled, "No, the last time we went there they served us raw meat."

"I can make you something!" chortled Korra

Asami raised an eyebrow incredulously "you? In the kitchen?" She knew the avatar had a competency for eating food, but making it was not her forte.

"Sure, I can cook!" Korra returned with a smile.

"Alright" Asami chucked "it's a date." She took the avatars hand in hers and the two of them walked out of the office to her car.


	3. Chapter 2: Seven Days, Nine Lives

Chapter 2

Seven Days, nine lives

Korra woke up and shivered, a draft was drifting in from a window across the room. The sounds of Yao stoking the hearths throughout the Sato mansion, and the unlit windows let her know that it was just before dawn. Asami was fast asleep next to her, her head resting on Korra's shoulder, their hands still intertwined from where they fell asleep.

Begrudgingly, Korra pulled herself from underneath Asami, carful to rest her head on the pillow so she would not wake her, and slipped out of bed. She put on on a set of lose fitting brown and green clothes that Asami had let her barrow from the night before and stretched. Korra remembered how difficult it had been for her to wake up early when she first arrived at Republic City, but now it was a well-ingrained routine in her life.

She walked across the room to the open window, they had needed the air after her failed cooking attempt turned into a passionate evening. She smiled devilishly at the memory as she closed it, and headed for the door. Just before she left she stopped to sit on the edge of the bed and watch Asami. Her long wavy hair was everywhere, covering most of her face. Korra brushed it aside with a delicate finger.

"You're up early," Asami murmured without opening her eyes.

"Yup," Korra spoke softly, not quite convinced that Asami was completely awake, "I'm about to start training. I'll be back before you wake up." She stroked Asami's face, and then tucked the blankets up to her chin.

"But I'm already awake," she yawned

"Mhmm," Korra leaned in and kissed her cheek. By the time she had closed the door behind her, Asami was snoring softly.

Korra raced down the stairs to the rear of the mansion. Once she was far enough away to not wake Asami, she switched from running to air scootering. Yao was waiting at the back door with her glider staff, handing it to Korra as she sped by. "Thanks Yao!" she shouted as she grabbed it in passing. In one smooth movement, she let the scooter disappear and opened the staff, shooting into the air almost immediately. _How does he do that?_ She wondered as she banked right then angled her glider up. The fact that Yao had the foresight to know that she had forgotten her staff in the parlor and would want it at the back door just before dawn baffled her. He had an impeccable knack to be where he was needed when he was needed there. 'The perfect help' Asami had once called him, she now thought that was a fitting description.

Korra rose strait into the air, the cold wind nipping at her exposed skin, waiting until the once grand buildings of the Sato estate looked like they could fit into the palm of her hand before changing course. Once she thought she was high enough, she took a long look up into the still starry skies, closed her eyes and retracted the wings of her staff. There was a moment of weightlessness, all her body seemed to bond with the air around her. She could feel the clearness of her mind like a void begging to be filled. Familiar words echoed clearly in her mind,

_Release your earthly tethers, _

_and become one with the wind_.

Her eyes opened, and she plummeted towards the earth. She tucked her arms to her sides and aimed strait down, hearing nothing but the howling of the wind. Moments before she would have hit the ground she opened her glider staff and leveled off, rocketing forward just underneath the branch of a willow tree. She settled at a comfortable altitude and set off for the city, thinking about the old airbender words as she flew.

By the time she had reached republic city, a yellow-orange glow was peaking over the mountains, and dawn was threatening to break the darkness. Despite the early hour, the city was full of activity. The sound of peddlers readying their wares could be heard over the rumble of trains and automobiles. The succulent sent of food wafted through the air as Police blimps were again floating over the city guarding the peace. She flew through downtown, it's bustling crowed moved about the city underneath the ever-preset shadow of the new United Republic of Nations flag.

After the attack, President Riko had the old flag redesigned in order to, "Re-strengthen national pride." One of the many changes brought on by the new National Pride and Protection laws. Another was an ordinance, making it mandatory to fly the new flag over every building. The new design was white except for four hands stacked on top of one another and a phrase below them that read "Unity, Pride, Strength."

Korra landed in front of a fish cart, finally unable to resist the smell of downtown. "My shtars, Avatar Korra!" shouted the cart's owner in excitement. He was a short man with crooked teeth, wild grey hair, and a profound lisp. "I'm honored! Are you hungry? Whatever you'd like ish yoursh! Today ish my lucky day, the AVATAR ish at my cart, MY CART, I can't believe it!" he ducked and rummaged through something in his cart, all without breaking his stream of words "Avatar, what would you like? I have fish? Do you like fish? I can make something not on the menu if you don't shee anything that you like. Here let me get a…"

"That's ok," Korra cut him off embarrassed, "really you don't have to, can I just have a river fish skewer please?"

"Of courshe! Anything for the shavior of the city." The cart owner proceeded to dive into his work with an excess of excitement. "Here you are Avatar!" he said after a short time, displaying the fish with a flourish.

"Looks delicious, how much do I owe you?"

"For the avatar? Thish ish on the houshe." He stated with a crooked toothed smile

Korra thanked the man again and took off with her food and her glider, trying not to let the experience go to her head.

When she arrived at her destination, dawn was in full bloom, the sunshine was warming the ground and the air was losing it's cold crisp. She circled the pro-bending arena twice before setting down on a balcony that leads to the gym inside. Bolin was there already there, shooting stone disks at a net.

"Hey Korra." Bolin shot one last disk then turned to face her. "I was just finishing my warm up. Do you need one? Or are you already warm from flying here?"

"I could use a little one, wanna do skipping stones?"

Bolin nodded and the two walked to the middle of the room, where an outline of a probending arena was neatly painted on the floor, a long trough of water lied three fourths of the way across. Bolin wheeled a pile of circular stone plates to the other side and Korra took position behind the trough. Bolin spread the disks in a pile in front of him and took a wide steady stance. Korra held her hands over the tough and reached out to touch the water with her bending, feeling it flowing beneath her hands.

Bolin lifted a heavy foot and slammed it onto the ground, three disks rose from the ground and he punched them forward, sending them spinning towards Korra like heavy stone Frisbees. With a fluid motion Korra lifted her arms quickly into the air, sending two balls of water to deflect two of the disks safely away. Spinning on the balls of her feet, she delivered a sharp kick that sent a bolt of water to smash the third into bits. Korra recollected the water and returned to her starting position.

"Any luck finding a firebender?" She asked as she dodged, broke and deflected the next round of disks.

"No one yet." Bolin replied woefully as he continued to fire disks "I've seen tons of auditions. But no one has that team avatar POW!" with that last word he send a two disk strait for Korra, while sending one in a high arc to catch her off guard.

Not fooled, Korra made a shield of ice to block the first two, then planted a foot on the ice and leapt into a backflip, breaking the last disk with a powerful kick. "What do you mean by 'pow'?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "It's seven days before our first match of the season, we need to find somebody."

Bolin paused from the exercise and made a face a feign shock, "It can't just be anybody Korra!" he threw up his hands and began making comical gestures "He has to flow!... And mix!... and dance! A…"

"And be Mako?" Korra interrupted, crossing her arms.

Bolin froze mid funny stance and stuck out his bottom lip "I just wish he wasn't so busy all the time" he sunk to the floor cross-legged and downtrodden. "The Fire Ferrets aren't the fire ferrets unless ALL of the Fire ferrets are ferreting!" He plopped on his back, dramatically putting his hands over his face.

"First off, Ferreting isn't a word. Second, Mako is in Ba sing se with Woo, I don't think his schedule will be clearing up anytime soon." Korra walked over to where Bolin was laying and sat down next to him. "I know it won't be the same, Mako wasn't just our team mate, he's your brother, one of our best friends. A new teammate will mean making adjustments, and as hard as that is, it's something we have to deal with if we want to compete."

Bolin peaked at Korra from underneath his hands, "Since when did you start sounding like Tenzin?"

She narrowed her eyes at him "WHAT? That was nothing like him!"

"I don't know..." Puffing up his chest and scrunching his eyebrows, he spoke in a deep voiced Tenzin impersonation, "_A new teammate will mean making adjustments, and as hard as that is, it's something we have to deal with if we want to compete._" He stuck his finger into the air and waved it at Korra "_Now lets train, NO FUN ALOWED!"_

The two broke into laughing fits, stopping only when their sides began to hurt. Once she was able, Korra helped Bolin to his feet and turned to go back to the trough. "Come on, we _should_ be training."

"Excuse me, are you Bolin?" asked a soft voice from the door across the room.

Korra and Bolin whirled toward the sound, surprised. In the doorway stood a tall beautiful girl with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. Bolin's mouth fell open, and Korra had to elbow him in the side to keep him from drooling. "Hi… Uh, yeah that's me, what can I do for you?"

"My name is Kat," said the girl, walking up to the two, her long legs making each stride look graceful, Korra found herself slightly jealous. "The Fire Ferrets are my favorite team, I've listened to every match on the radio. Even when you guys didn't have the avatar OR Mako and you didn't win very much…" Kat saw Bolin blush and quickly spat out "But this season is new, and everyone has bad games! I even got to watch the Fire Ferrets play against the Wolf Bats in the finals. Although the lack of calls from the ref kind of made it a bad game."

"That and the equalists coming and Amon attacking," Korra remarked.

"Oh… yeah that too"

"Is there something we can do for you Kat?" Korra asked, crossing her arms suspiciously.

Her eyes lit up as she spoke, "I heard that there is an opening on the team and… I would like to try out!"

"Do you have any pro-bending experience?" asked Korra incredulously

"Only what I've done with my friends, but I've been a fan since I was a little girl and I like to think I'm an excellent bender."

Korra frowned, then smiled mischievously and gestured towards the outline of the arena "well your just in time, we were just in the middle of a warm up drill. Care to showcase some bending?"

"Sure!" She said, and half ran half skipped to the trough of water, "what's the drill?"

"It's called skipping stones," said Bolin, finally snapping out of his daze, "one person stands at one end, and the earthbender fires disks at you. You have to dodge the disks without losing any ground. The more disks you dodge, the faster the earthbender will fire them at you."

"Sounds good!" Kat said with a smile, putting her long hair into a ponytail.

Bolin walked to the other side of the arena and stood behind the pile of disks. "Just let me know when your ready."

"Go for it."

Bolin fired three consecutive stones towards Kat, who dodged all three without using any bending. Bolin fired three more, this time sending them at different angles, Kat easily shattered the first with a hard kick, and dodged the other two by leaping over them. "Come on, give me your best stuff," Kat cooed at Bolin, obviously enjoying the activity. Bolin began to let forth a constant stream of disks all headed for the blond girl. As the first disk approached her, to the surprise of both Korra and Bolin, she lifted a finger and a bolt of water smashed the disk to pieces. Then, with a graceful whirl of her hand, she bent all of the water in the trough into the air, splitting it into hundreds of thousands of little droplets of water. She dropped her hands, and like an army of little soldiers, the drops flew at the remaining disks, forcing them down to the ground as they approached her. By the time Bolin ran out of disks, Kat hadn't taken a step from where she started.

Bolin took a step back, and Korra just stood where she was, shocked.

"You're a water bender." She said, Kat nodded, "How did you bend like that? You barley moved," asked Korra, perplexed.

"It's a style my father taught me, he can bend without moving at all." Kat smiled at the look of shock on the two in front of her, "it's impressive, isn't it?"

Korra nodded _I've never seen anything like that before…_ she thought. Bolin smiled, "Yes!" he said, "That's brilliant! The other teams will never know what's coming! When can you begin training with us?"

"Today if you would like!"

"Wait." Korra interrupted, "aren't you forgetting something?" she said turning to Bolin, "we already have a water bender."

"yes…" Bolin scratched his head, looking down. After a moment he jolted upright. "But we also already have a fire bender!" he looked towards Korra, "we could have Kat water bend and you can firebend! What do you think?"

Korra took a step back surprised, "Me? Firebend? Bu-But I've never done that in a match before."

"Korra you're the strongest bender I've ever met, you firebending would be awesome!"

Korra put her had on the back of her neck and sighed. Kat spoke up from across the room "I know this isn't my place, but you guys only have a short time before your first game, if you wait any longer, then you wont have much time to practice with anyone before games start."

Korra knew she had a point, she looked over at Bolin who was staring with hopeful eyes, "I don't know…"

"How about this," Kat walked up to the two and put a hand on her hip, "try it out for a few games, and if you don't like it, then I'll quite and you guys can look for a firebender to take my place."

"_A new teammate will mean making adjustments, and as hard as that is, it's something we have to deal with if we want to compete." _Bolin quoted back to Korra.

Korra waited a moment, and sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a shot… Welcome to the team."

"WOHOO!" shouted Kat as she jumped into the air with excitement. She went up to Bolin and Korra and shook their hands. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Bolin beamed and walked to grab another pile of circular stones, "well our first match is this week and we're running out of time, what do you girls we get some practice in?"

"Lets do it." Said Korra, and the group began to train.


	4. Chapter 3: Three can keep a secret

Chapter 3

Three can keep a secret

Asami read the report in front of her with a frown. She knew that her thirteen board members were watching her, and waiting for a reaction, but she couldn't think of the right thing to say.

"Seven and a half percent, Ms. Sato."

"What?" she looked up from the document

Huen Lee, her board chairman, spoke again from his spot on the enormous round table, "Seven percent. That's the expected drop in in our profit margin."

"Yes, I can read, thank you Mr. Lee," Asami was finding it difficult to keep annoyance out of her voice.

He frowned and narrowed his eyes, "four percent last quarter, sales down fifteen percent this quarter, and a prediction of seven and a half for this coming quarter. This company is falling into a slipper slope!" There was a nodding of heads around the room, Asami tried not to notice. "We are on a sinking ship, _Ms. Sato,_ and we _need_ to know how you plan to save it."

Asami took a moment to answer, looking over the financial report one more time. "We have products in development that will turn the state of the company around. And when they do, our competition will be begging to lease the patent." She looked at the various faces around the room, "What's more, the Sato mobile is the most reliable consumer car on the market. This is just a natural market fluctuation, we will bounce back."

"The Sato mobile was outsold by Cabbage corps' 'Model C' last month. That's the first time in the Sato Mobile's history. As for research and development, Lets take a look at our spending report" Huen picked up a folder from the table and leafed through it. "Since you have been working alone, and dropped your other projects, we have had a fifty eight percent drop in breakthroughs. Our people need your help. Meanwhile, thirty percent of our research and development budget is being used for a project that we know nothing about." He stood up slowly, relying heavily on the table and his cane. "Do you care to give us a progress report on this enormous expenditure?"

Asami bit her lip, "There isn't one."

Murmurs broke out in the room, Huen glared at Asami. "Are you saying that despite a small fortune, months of work, and complete autonomy, you have yet to make any headway?"

"Yes bu-"

"And despite the lack of progress, you refuse to make anyone privy to your prototype."

"This machine in the wrong ha-"

"So is seems to me Ms. Sato, that you have failed in this matter. Your father would never have let a project drag the company down. How can you justify such an expenditure if all you have produced is-"

"Do you want to talk about what I've _produced_ for this company as CEO?" Asami could feel her blood boiling, and she was bordering on shouting, "Lets talk about where I took this company after _my father_ was imprisoned." She stood up, putting both hands on the table and looking at Huen directly. "After _THIS_ board wanted to file for bankruptcy, _I_ convinced you all to stay the course. I went out and made things happen and _saved_ this company." She scanned the faces of her board before speaking again. "Or lets talk about the contracts that I secured after the attack on the city. Many of our competitors suffered far less loss than us, and still went under. What's more, when I am finished with this project, this company will see the best quarter that its ever seen. So, Mr. Huen, I would say that I did NOT fail this company." Asami took a deep breath and sat down. "My father built this company from the ground up, it will not become obscure under my leadership."

No one in the room looked at her. Huen seemed like he was going to speak up again, when a grey haired woman named Baiso next to Huen spoke up. "We aren't questioning your ability Ms. Sato. You have proved yourself knowledgeable enough to earn our trust." The grey haired woman looked up at her, "But we cannot be lead blind. Give us the details of your project, Ms. Sato. Or we will have no choice but to cut funding completely, and place it elsewhere."

Asami looked down at her lap, she needed the funding. The board couldn't fire her, she was the number one shareholder, but they could cut her off from the money, and technology, that Future Industries had. She saw no other way out, it had been kept secret for as long as it could. She took a deep breath and looked up at the board, "Ladies and gentlemen, the technology that I have been working on will revolutionize the world."


	5. Chapter 4: If two of them are dead

Chapter 4

If two of them are dead

Asami could tell that she had the attention of the board, every pair of eyes were on her. "You all remember the super-weapon that leveled our city." Nods around the room, "It's devastation came from the mounted spirit weapon on it's arm." She took out a pen and paper from her briefcase, and began to sketch furiously while she talked. "A few months after the attack, I managed to get my hands on the blueprints of the weapon."

"The key behind it, lies in the way our world, and the spirit world, are separated. I have conducted a series of experiments nearby the new spirit portal that suggest that our world and the spirit world occupy the same space. Yet, do not interact with one another physically, save for certain electro-magnetic frequencies. I theorized, that for every point in our world, there is a corresponding point in the spirit world." Asami paused from talking and sketching, for a moment, to examine the faces around the table. There she found a mixture of cluelessness, and curiosity. she started again, "Unfortunately, its not as easy to find these intersections as one would think. While two points may be next to each other in our world, they could be miles apart in the spirit world. I recently found one such intersection, and was able to prove my hypothesis. I set up a recording device to measure the electrical potential in the air nearby both locations. Then I attached an electrostatic generator in that spot in our world, and measured changes in both when I activated-"

"That is very interesting scientifically," Huen interrupted, "but we are not scientists. Please, tell me how this relates to the weapon, or your project."

"The point, Mr. Huen, is that the changes in the spirit world measured ten times higher than the changes in ours. The weapon worked by electrifying spirit vines, sending a surge of energy to the spirit world. When it crossed over, the energy was amplified tenfold. It was then brought back, and channeled it into a beam." She stood up and revealed what she was sketching.

On the page, was a perfectly drawn diagram of a machine the size of a room, and shaped like an hourglass. It was bisected as to show the various mechanisms inside of it. In the middle, was an empty space, with room for a canister, a neat line lead to a label that read '_Spirit vine Capsule'._ "Their way is unstable, and is too inefficient to use for anything other than a weapon.

"I have been working on a way to bring that energy back, and in such a way that we can harness it safely. If my figures are correct, and I know that they are, then one meter long spirit vine, could power republic city cleanly and cheaply for 6 months."

The room was dead quite. Asami could tell that everyone there could see the implications, "How close are you to a breakthrough?" Baiso asked excitedly.

"I'm on the brink…" she rubbed the back of her neck, "Well, I've been on the brink for a long time."

There was a moment of silence. Then room broke into conversation. "We're going to encounter resistance from the lightening workers union." Said a dark haired man beside Baiso.

"Screw the unions, organize a press conference, we stand to make millions with this. We need to push a prototype into production as soon as possible." Shouted Huen.

"Let me get a team together Asami, we need a whole division of people assisting you in the lab!" Counseled a well-dressed man across the table.

"We _need_ to share this with marketing," urged Baiso, "we need to spin this right or we'll encounter more than resistance from the unions. People aren't ready to trust spirit energy, not after it just destroyed their city."

"NO!" Asami blurted out, all eyes, again, fell on her. "Until, I have found a safe way to do this, we won't be revealing anything, and I will continue to work on this _alone_. This is a dangerous technology and we have already established that it can be weaponized. The last thing I want is this," holding up the piece of paper, "getting into the wrong hands. Especially so soon after this city has recovered."

The room was quiet, for a moment, "Unveiling it now wouldn't be a smart move, legally." Said the dark haired man, "Under _National Pride and Protection_, Riko could call it a 'threat to the populace,' and confiscate the technology. And since it's spirit tech, they could also call us domestic terrorists, if we spoke up and arrest us. She's right," gesturing towards Asami, "the nation is terrified of spirit weapons. We have to keep this under wraps until we can release it under better circumstances." At the mention of Riko and _The_ _National Pride and Protection Laws_ the table shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"I put forward a motion," Huen Stated with a tone of finality, "Asami, will continue to work on her project, and we will supply any funding she will need. We will determine a proper timeline for a release date once this-this…"

"Spirit Energy Reactor." Informed Asami.

"…Spirit Energy Reactor is operational, but until then, this matter will be marked 'Confidential.'"

The motion passed unopposed, and the meeting moved on to other business matters. Asami didn't participate much in the rest of the meeting, speaking only to vote, "Aye" on various motions. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking of the consequences of revealing the reactor to the board. When the meeting finally let out, she was the first one out the door.

"Asami," Baiso called out, calling out to her just as she was about to get on the elevator.

"Hey Baiso." She replied, begrudgingly holding the door.

"Thank you for finally telling us." Baiso said with an old smile once she had caught up, "Now that we know, we can help. We can start to get more involved."

_That's what I'm afraid of… _"Yes, quite" she faked a smile, "… Are you riding down with me?" she asked, as Baiso was standing in the way of the door, and she very much wanted to be back in her office.

Baiso grabbed her arm, and spoke in a soft voice, "Your invention is going to change the world." Asami thought she could hear a hint of laughter in her voice, "Your going to go down in history Asami."

She let go, and stepped back, letting the elevator doors close. Asami stood erect, wondering why her heart was pounding. _Your going to go down in history Asami,_ something about the way Baiso said that made her sweat, she felt a pit forming in her stomach.


	6. Chapter 5: First Impressions

Chapter 5

First impressions

Neither spoke as they drove to the Probending Arena, and the hush was beginning to worry Korra. She knew from experience, that periods of long silence could be common, with Asami. Sometimes, when she was lost in a project, she would spend whole days locked up in her workshop, blasting music, and not saying a word. But her tense pose, and her troubled face, told Korra that this silence wasn't the result of genius at work, something was wrong. "It's going to snow soon," Korra said finally, breaking the silence, "my father taught me to see the signs." Asami continued to drive as if she didn't hear. "We're expecting 50 stories," she joked, trying to coax a reaction from her girlfriend, "and snow monsters…. With giant teeth… and top hats…" Still no response. Korra put a hand on her girlfriend's knee, "Hey. Is everything alright?"

Asami snapped out of her daze, "Hu? Oh, Yeah, I'm just… thinking about stuff."

"Anything important?" Korra pried

"No, just-" She debated telling Korra about her meeting with the board yesterday, or about Baiso's remark, which still rung in her head, but she didn't want to burden her before the match. Instead she interlaced her fingers with Korra's, "…Just worried about you." She said honestly, "It was easier to watch people hurl rocks, water, and fire at you _before _you became the light of my life."

"Oh," concern vanished from Korra's face, and was replaced with a warm smile "well, first, you're the sweetest girlfriend in the world, but don't worry." She brought Asami's hand to her mouth, "Because second, everything is going to be fine. We're seeded 2nd in the league, that means we play our first match, against the team that came in second to last, last year. The match is going to end in a knockout. And Thirdly," she took on a joking tone, "I'm the Avatar."

"Over confidence is a path to underperformance," Asami mused.

Korra scrunched her brow, "I hate it when you quote Tenzin at me. You're too good at it."

Asami laughed, "Why would that bother you?" the two had reached the Probending arena, and Asami pulled over to the side of the road.

"Because," Korra unlaced their hands to tuck a strand of hair behind Asami's ear, "I don't want _his_ face going through my mind, when I do _this_." She cupped Asami's face and pulled her close for a kiss.

Instantly, Asami's could feel her face flushing, the familiar jolt ran through her every inch of her body. She pressed herself as close to the Avatar as she could.

"Hey Korra!" Bolin's voice echoed from the player's entrance across the street. "Hurry up, the first three matches already finished. We're up after the next two." He was already wearing the Fire Ferrets' new uniforms, which were grey, with the red Future industries logo on the chest. The words 'Future Industries, Pioneers of tomorrow' were inscribed above the teeth of the gears.

Korra broke away, and the familiar jolt to left Asami's body. She frowned at the Avatar playfully, "He can't have you just yet. I'm not done with you."

"Sorry gorgeous," said Korra. With a swirling motion, she leapt and airbent herself into the air, landing next to the driver's side door, "Duty calls."

"Fine," Asami pulled her down for one last passionate kiss, relishing in the electricity for as long as she could. When they finally separated, Asami grabbed Korra's hand and kissed the palm, "Duty can have you right now" She squeezed her hand lightly, "as long as _I_ get you tonight."

"I think that's a fair deal," Said Korra happily. Her cheeks were flushed, and a dumbfounded smile played at her lips. Asami smiled ruefully. She liked to see that their embraces affected Korra as equally as they did her.

"Kooooooora lets gooooo!" shouted Bolin again.

"See you in the prep-room." Korra said quickly. She pecked Asami on the cheek and hastily airscootered off towards her teammate. Asami flinched as a car came to a screeching stop in front of the Avatar, narrowly avoiding a catastrophe.

_Be safe Korra…_ thought Asami. Since they had become a couple, Asami was finding it more, and more unbearable to see Korra in danger. Even when she spared with Bolin, Asami felt the urge to jump in and protect her. On numerous occasions, she had to remind herself that Korra was the Avatar, and didn't need Asami to keep her safe twenty four seven. Though, those thoughts did little to ease her nerves, _Just don't get hurt tonight_. She put her Satomobile in drive, and left.

Korra reached Bolin, and threw an arm around his neck as they walked inside, "Are you ready to kick some Gopher Hawk ass?"

"YEAH!" Bolin threw his arms in the air excitedly, then paused. "But… We aren't playing them tonight. The league changed the line-up for the day, we play the Republic City Royals tonight." They strode down a long hallway, that ended in a set of sketchy looking elevator doors, were a small crowed of other players, coaches, and agents were gathered. Above them they could hear the muffled roar of the crowd, their cheers brought a rain of dust from the ceiling.

"The Royals? They made it to the finals last year, right? And lost to the Badger-moles?" Korra asked.

"Yeah, it was a close game, they're real tough." He put his hand up to his mouth and leaned towards Korra, speaking softly, "They like to match their Firebender, Fao, against Earthbenders. From what I've seen, he's a big guy with a lot of power. They're known for sending Fao forward, to keep their opponents busy, while the rest of the team picks players off."

"That doesn't sound so bad." The elevator doors opened and people begin to file in. "I'll just take him out quick, and the rest will be easy pickings. You know they say, the bigger they are…" Korra made a faux-flexing motion, causing Bolin to laugh. "He can't be big enough to stop the Avatar!"

Just as her and Bolin were about to board the elevator, Korra head a child's voice behind them, "Avatar?" She paused, and looked back to see a small boy in tattered clothes, holding out a folded piece of paper. The paper looked expensive, and had a black bird faintly stamped on it's front.

"Hey buddy, is that for me?" she took the paper. She could hear the sound of Bolin talking up until the doors closed behind her. "Thanks, it's always nice to meet a fan." She opened the paper and peered at it's contents, "What's your name budd-"

Korra froze, her eyes shot up from the letter, to where the boy stood. But he was already gone, and the hallway was empty. The only noises in were the feint sounds of the crowd, the dust falling from the roof, and Korra's now beating heart. She looked down at the paper again, and reread it's contents.

_Tonight, someone will try to kill you._

_Be carful._

_-A friend_


	7. Chapter 6: Preparations

Chapter 6

Preparations

"Ouch. Dammit." Asami looked at her finger, where a drop of blood was beginning to form. She was sitting on a long bench in the player's locker room, which they all called, the prep room. In front of her was a locker engraved with, 'Fire Ferrets: Korra.' and she had her girlfriends uniform across her lap. She was sewing a round patch onto it's left arm that had the words "Looking Snazzy Yourself" surrounded by a heart. She tried focus, and to ignore the cries coming from the table across room, where a young man was writhing in pain. A Waterbender had bent two small spheres around her hands, and was running them along her patient's foot. The water glowed, and a high-pitched humming jointed the noise.

Asami had seen Korra do the same thing many times. The first time Asami cooked for Korra, she cut her hand deeply while slicing carrots.

It bled profusely, and hurt terribly. With a calm relaxed look, Korra took her hand. "Let me take care of that," she said sympathetically, as she bent some water from the faucet to her hand and into a sphere, then held it over the cut. The water began to glow and hum, and the pain in Asami's hand vanished. When Korra was finished, there was nothing but a feint pink line.

"Whacha sewing on Korra's uniform?" sounded a high voice behind Asami. She jumped, surprised at having her mind snapped back into the present. The girl walked up and looked down at the patch. "'Looking snazzy yourself,'" She read aloud, "hmmmm, I don't get it."

"Uhh, it's kind of an inside joke," she examined the stranger. Her long blond hair was perfect, and her bight blue eyes shined. She was wearing nothing, except a sports bra, and white shorts. Which showcased her impressive figure.

"Between you and the Avatar?"

"Yes. Between me and Korra." She put the sewing needle away and stood up to face the girl. "You must be Kat."

"Yup! And you're Asami right? Korra's told me everything about you!" Kat said in an exited tone, extending her hand.

_Funny, she left something out about you. _"It's nice to finally meet you." Asami took her hand, and Kat shook it with a surprisingly firm grip.

"You have no idea how exited I am to be working with the Avatar. It's like a dream come true. But I don't need to tell you this, your _Dating _the Avatar.-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Asami spotted Korra coming through the doors with Tenzin, Bolin, and Opal. _Perfect timing_ she thought, as Kat continued to ramble. She caught Korra's eye and gave a look that said _Save me_, and the four walked to where they were standing. Korra and Tenzin appeared to be arguing about something, but the stadium and the injured player, made it too loud to hear. As they drew closer she was able to pick up what they were saying.

"Korra, this could be a serious threat. You shouldn't take this lightly, you're the Avatar there are plenty of people who want to hurt you" Tenzin said to Korra, reproachfully.

"Look. Tenzin." She pointed at him with all four fingers, "Do you remember how many death threats I got from the Equalists? Or, how many I got after that picture of me, kissing Asami, made the front page? I heard worse almost every other day for months. We have no reason to suspect that this is anything different."

"We also have no reason to believe that it's not."

Asami's face went slightly pale at the mention of a threat to her girlfriend. She went to take a step towards Korra, but before she could move, Kat jumped in front of her, with a shocked face, "What? Korra! Someone threatened you?" she hugged Korra tightly, "Are you ok?" Asami felt a pang of annoyance.

"Yeah Kat," Korra chuckled, "It was nothing, some kid just gave me a piece of paper. It's probably just a weirdo doing a prank."

"Or another team trying to psyche you out." Bolin chimed in, "They're probably just afraid of facing the Ferrets." His tone was nonchalant, "The world of Probending isn't always glamorous."

"Or Korra's in _danger_," said Opal, glaring at Bolin. "Just let us call Beifong and ask for some officers to escort you until after the matches."

"Korra," Asami said in a worried voice, "What happened? What kid?" _I leave for one second..._

Korra shrugged off Kat, took Asami's hand, and squeezed it tight, "It was nothing. Right before I got onto the player's-entrance elevator a kid handed me this." Korra passed her the note.

"What did he look like?" asked Asami

"Short… and childlike… I don't know, I only saw him for a second. Bolin was on the elevator, so he didn't see him either."

Asami inspected the page, reading it's contents and examining the black bird stamp, "If someone threatened you, then you should definitely call Beifong. You probably shouldn't even be playing. We can cancel the match, and get a police escort back to Airbender Island."

"What? Cancel? That's crazy." Korra let go of Asami's hand and took back the letter, throwing it into her locker, "If you _have_ to do _something_, then I'll accept an escort while I'm _here_. But we are NOT canceling the match. You can call Beifong."

"Good." Said Tenzin, "Because I already called her."

Korra's head popped out from behind her locker door. She narrowed her eyes at Tenzin, "Out. All of you, I have to get ready to play."

Tenzin told her that the officers were minutes away, which prompted an obscene gesture from Korra, and left for his seat. Opal grabbed Bolin's face, kissed him hard, and wished him luck. Kat sauntered off to get ready for the match, and Korra began to slip on her uniform. Asami hugged her from behind. "I'm worried about you." She said, kissing the back of her head. Korra paused and put her hands over Asami's, turning her neck back for a kiss.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. This is going to end up being some joke, and Beifong will be upset that her people wasted their time. Part of dating the Avatar, is dealing with the crazies of the world."

"That, and having to watch people throw rocks, fire, and jets of high pressure water at her."

Korra laughed, "Just this Avatar. Besides, injuries aren't as common as people think. In reality, very few Probender's ever get hurt."

Just then, a piercing scream made them jump, as a man on a stretcher was rushed past them, to the healer. His leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and there were severe burns across his face

Asami cocked an eyebrow, "you were saying?"

"Okay, maybe they're a _little_ common."

Asami's eyebrows scrunched, and Korra laughed. She put on the last of her uniform and turned to face Asami, "Game time," she said, kissing her quickly, "Wish me luck, love you." Then, she darted off to the arena entrance before Asami could answer.

"I love you too," Asami called out to her, just as the doors closed behind Korra. "Good luck," _Be safe._

Asami waited a moment. The pit in her stomach from the previous day was back. Only this time, it was the letter that rung in her head, and not Baiso's words. She got up, left the prep room, and headed to her seats, where Opal, and Tenzin's whole family, were already seated. Jinora, Opal, and Tenzin were discussing the activities of the various air-nomad troupes, while Pema tried to get Meelo and Ikki to stop fighting over popcorn, when the announcer, rising from his platform, caught their attention.

"Introducing, the only team that can bend all _four_ elements, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" He blared into his microphone. Asami saw Korra standing next to Kat and Bolin, waving at the crowed, as the extending platform took them onto the home field side of the arena. The crowed roared, a chant of "AV-A-TAR, AV-A-TAR" began to ring through the arena.

"Facing," the announcer continued, "the big kings of downtown, the fighters with the crowns, the Republic City Royals!" again, the crowed erupted into cheers as the Royals were extended to the guest side of the field.

The referee called for captains, and Bolin walked to the middle, where an enormous man was already waiting. Asami was shocked when she saw the two men standing next to each other. He'd been too far away for her to truly realize it before, but the Royals' captain was at least two feet taller than Bolin, and weighed at least 200 pounds more. After the handshake, the announcer left the stage. The two teams and squared off in the middle, and waited for the starting bell. For a moment, the arena was almost quiet. Then, loud and clear, came the ding of the bell, and the match began.


	8. Chapter 7: Bright Blue Eyes

Chapter 7

Bright blue eyes

_Bolin wasn't kidding…_ She thought, as she stared at the captain of the Royals. His thick body was rippling with muscle, and she guessed he weighed 400 pounds. Yet, he moved as quickly and as gracefully as a cat. Korra glanced at the rest of the team, where a smaller, but still massive man, stood next to the tallest woman Korra had ever seen.

Bolin nodded towards the woman, "She's their Waterbender, the other one is their Earthbender."

The Referee called the two captains to the middle of the arena, and asked them to shake hands. Korra noticed that Bolin's entire hand disappeared into his opponent's massive palm. When Bolin came back, the team converged into a brief huddle, "Alright guys," he said, "we have to strike fast. You can see how big they are, but don't be deceived, they'll be quicker than you think. Korra, take point, you're the only person who can match Fao in strength. Kat, play support, try and drive them back, but if Korra's in trouble then start putting out the fire. I'll see if I can slip a shots in while things are chaotic. If we get pushed back, play defensive and let the round run out. They're too big to take on in close quarters. Ready? Break!"

The Fire Ferrets lined up alone the middle of the arena and stood face to face with the royals. Korra had to lean her head up, to look into Fao's face.

"I want a clean match." The Referee stated, "Earth and fire, no head shots, water you can bend a stream for one second, and not a moment longer. Ferrets ready?" Bolin nodded, "Royals ready?" Fao gave a thumbs up, "alright, ready, set…" The sound of the bell dinged loudly.

Immediately, Korra hurled a bolt of flame directly at Fao's chest, but it was dissolved with a circular flick of his arm. He returned by jumping into the air, and with a hard round kick, sending a blade of flame horizontally at all three of the Ferrets. Korra and Kat easily dodged it, but Bolin, who was in the midst of sending a disk at the Royal's Earthbender, was struck square in the chest, and fell onto his back. Capitalizing on the momentary weakness, the Royals' Earthbender sent two disks spinning for Bolin. The first struck him in the shoulder as he hurried to get his footing, causing him to lose his balance again. The second, sent him flying into the next zone with a loud, 'CRACK'. A loud buzzer went off, signaling that the Ferrets had lost ground.

Without letting up, Fao began to send a torrent of fireballs the size of tires towards Korra. She dissolved the first, dodged the second, and was nicked by the third on her shoulder, scorching her left side and knocking her onto her back. Despite the wind being knocked from her lungs, she knew she had to move. She quickly rolled to her left, narrowly missing two more fireballs. "Kat, cover me!" She managed to yell, still catching her breath, before diving into a roll to avoid another fireball.

Kat, who was exchanging bolts of water with the Royals' Waterbender, skipped into the air, and with a pair of spinning kicks, sent two streams of water to collide with Fao's fireballs, before returning to her foe.

When Kat's stream and Fao's fire collided, a cloud of steam obscured the air, causing Fao to pause for a moment. Realizing the opportunity, Korra leapt towards him, and pitched her own series of fireballs, to switch the roles of the fight. Fao fought to maintain control, but unable to match the Avatar's power, was forced to play defense. She continued to bombard him again, and again, with an onslaught of flame, not giving a single moment for Fao to turn the tide. He took a step backwards, then another one, and another one, unable to hold ground against the Avatar's attack. With a last burst of power, Korra took two steps forward, jumped. With a double-footed kick, she sent an enormous blast of fire whirling towards the Firebender. Fao tried to dive away, but was wasn't fast enough, and with an angry cry, tumbled strait through the last two zones, splashing into the water below.

The rest of Fao's team looked shocked, that their leader was overtaken, and turned to focus their efforts on Korra. Their Waterbender sent a bolt of water at the Avatar, clipping her ankle as she tried to dodge, putting her wildly off balance. Before she could recover, the Royals' Earthbender hurled a disk at her chest. Korra watched the disk spin closer and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact. But instead of a blow from the disk, Korra heard a loud, 'crack,' as Bolin intercepted the disk with one of his own. Without missing a beat, Korra regained her balance, and, with Bolin, attacked the Earthbender. With a quick blast of fire, backed by several disks they sent him flying into the last zone. Korra turned to strike at the lone Waterbender, readying a blast of flame. But before she could deliver the blow, the bell sounded, signaling the end of the round.

"The first round goes to the Fire Ferrets!" Blared the announcer.

Korra let the fire slip from her grasp, and moved to Bolin, who brought the team into a huddle. "Good job Ferrets, we're dominating them. But we need to keep the pressure on." He said with an aura of authority. Korra noticed that Probending brought out the leader in Bolin. The person on the arena floor barley resembled the soft, easy going, friend she knows normally. "Korra, lets mix it up. After the bell, strike at their Waterbender, I'll do the same and we'll push her towards the ropes. I'll be able to finish her form there. Kat, cover Fao's blasts. I suspect that Earthbender will be have it out for Korra and I, so we'll manage keeping him distracted. Any Questions?" The two girls shook their heads, "Alright, ready? BREAK!" The Ferrets lined up against the Royals, and the bell sounded again.

Without waiting, Fao leapt into the air, again, sending a blade of flame towards the three Ferrets. Kat, predicting his move, brought a stream of water up from the grate in the ground, and, with a graceful flourish, extinguished Fao's attack. A counter attack from the young Waterbender put Fao on the defensive. Korra and Bolin immediately fired everything they could at the Royal's Waterbender, who, overwhelmed by the assault, was forced to dive towards the ropes for safety, where Bolin continued to hammer her with attacks. With a surprising display of dexterity for such a large man, the Royal's Earthbender sent a volley of disks spinning wide to the left and the right. They sailed through the air, and arched towards Korra, who rolled forward, to avoid the blunt of the assault.

The buzzer went off, signaling to Korra that Bolin had succeeded in pushing the Royal's Waterbender into the second zone. Hoping to catch her off guard, Korra jumped backwards, dodging a disk, and fired a small, but precise, shot directly at the Waterbender. The shot sailed past her teammates, and found its mark on the bender's collarbone, sending her teetering into the third zone, setting off the buzzer. The woman staggered, her hand cradling where Korra had struck her, tried to regain her balance, but it was too late. Bolin's next attack sent her flying into the water.

Kat and Fao exchanged blows until the space between them was obscured by steam and smoke. Despite his ferocity, not a single bolt of Fao's fire could make it past Kat, who was extinguishing everything he managed to throw at her. With the air still opaque, Kat fired four sequential bolts of water, and struck Fao across his chest and face. Although the attack left him standing, it pushed him back enough to cross into the second zone, again setting off the buzzer.

Seeing that his team was losing, the Royals' Earthbender sent a desperate volley of disks towards the Ferrets. Before they could cross the halfway line on the arena, Kat had jets of water it the air to intercept them. "Korra, Bolin," Kat yelled over her shoulder, "leap frog."

Korra understood, and smiled at Bolin. It was a play they had run in training dozens of times before. Kat continued to deflect the disks from the Earthbender, advancing towards the front line as she did, while Bolin engaged Fao. Korra positioned herself behind Kat, and with a running start, she leapt towards her teammate, planting a foot on Kat's back. Pushing with all her might, she flew into the air, high above the match. She looked down and could see Fao's eye grow wide, as if he knew what was coming, and that it was too late. She hit the ground, pouring every bit of energy she could muster into the attack, shooting an enormous semi-circle of fire towards the Royals. Sending what remained of the team sailing off the arena floor, and deep into the pool below.

Three dings of the bell sounded, signaling the end of the match. The crowed erupted into cheers, their chant of "AV-A-TAR, AV-A-TAR," began to echo through the arena again.

Kat jumped on Korra's back and kissed her cheek, "Knockout! What a shot!" she squealed, pumping her fist into the air and cheering.

With Kat still on her back, Korra threw her hands into the air and waved at the crowd, relishing in the win. The announcer rose from his platform and spoke into his microphone, "By knockout, this match goes to…" he made an exaggerated gesture towards the team, "The Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" The crowed boomed with more excitement than ever, their chant echoing with a thunderous roar.

Korra turned to the owner's box, where she knew Asami would be seated. Though when she saw her, Korra's smile fell from her face. Asami was pale white, and appeared to be shouting something to Tenzin and Beifong. Asami was too far away for Korra to hear, but her body language told Korra that something was wrong. Asami grabbed Tenzin's attention, and pointed at something behind Korra. Tenzin turned pale as well, and sprang into action, airbending himself past the barrier that marked the last row of seats, and towards the arena floor. Korra turned to see for herself, but before she could, something hard rammed into her and Kat, knocking them to the ground. While she fell, she thought she heard a small thump in the background.

The moment she landed, she rolled away from her teammate and sprang to her feet. Turning to where the impact had come from, she took a strong stance, ready for a fight. She saw a man on the retracted arena platform, a bow was in his hand, and a gasmask covered his face. For a moment, they made eye contact, a pair of bright blue eyes stared into her soul. Then the man vanished into the prep room. Korra looked down, before her, laid a motionless grey and red body. A red stain was spreading from a long wooden arrow, which was buried deep into it's side. Korra's blood ran cold, and her heart sank. _No... _ she thought, as she dropped to the ground by her friend. "Bolin!" she yelled, "Can you hear me?" she shook his shoulders, "Bolin!" desperation and panic were evident in her voice. She pressed her ear to his chest, but heard nothing. Tears welled in her eyes. The red stain had stretched to the ground, where a puddle of crimson blood was forming. Korra grabbed him, and shook again, hard, "BOLIN!" But there was no response, Bolin continued to lie there, bloody and motionless.


	9. Chapter 8: Dark Tunnels

Chapter 8

Dark Tunnels

Doran walked down a long hallway, carful not to step in the muddy river of water that covered the center of the ground. The lack of windows made him nervous, and the echo of every drop of water made him jump. The lantern he held in his hands barley illuminated the dingy tunnel in front of him, resulting in him stepping in multiple unpleasant substances. The sounds of little feet, moving all about him, let him know that he was not the only creature down there.

He came across a fork in the road and paused, one path stretched right, the other left, and both reeked of urine and feces. He bent his knees and inspected the walls around both entrances, looking for the sign. He found the little black bird painted on the tunnel wall to his right. He inspected it for a moment, brushing the long black hair out of his eyes, stood up, and turned left.

Doran thought of himself as a rock. Through a steady, practiced, self control, he had gotten people to believe that he had no joy, or fear, or any emotion, earning him the name "The Statue" amongst those who knew his profession. He had even began to believe the rumors himself, until he met the council. Now he knew that everyone has at least one emotion, fear.

The tunnels had his nerves on edge. Every turn and shadow seemed to set his heart beating fast. More than once, he had drawn his bow and turned around, ready to loose and arrow, only to find a lizard mouse staring up at him with blank eyes. After what felt like hours of trudging through sludge and feces, he came across his destination.

The door in front of him stood in contrast with it's surroundings. The tunnels were dark, dreary and grey. This door, however, was bright red and gold, except for it's knob, which seemed to be a polished glass that reflected his image. His bright blue eyes stared back at him with a hollow look. He walked up to the door and knocked three times, then two times, then once. Someone on the other side replied with two quick knocks, and Doran gave two more.

The door swung open, and a tall, thin, pale-faced man with two long, slender swords strapped to his back, stepped out. Doran put down his lantern, and his bow and arrows, and raised both arms. The pale-faced man frisked him, finding a knife hidden in his boot. Doran simply shrugged at the pale-faced man, "forgot I had it." He said in an emotionless voice. The man didn't reply, but picked up Doran's affects and made a motion for him to enter the door in front of him, which he obliged.

Upon the door closing behind him, the stench of the tunnels vanished, and was almost immediately replaced with the scent of roses and lavender. The room he entered was as large as a theater, and held none of the offensive sights and smells of its surrounding tunnels. The theme of red and gold extended from floor to ceiling, all mixed with an assortment of intricate engravings. Servants walked too and fro delivering food and wine to the group of three men, who sat at a large semi-circular table.

"Ahh Statue," Said the man in the middle of the three, "Glad you could make it. Come, sit." His voice was energetic, and gave no inkling of mal-intent. A servant brought out a chair, and seated it at the table, across from the three men. Doran did as he was bid, knowing that it was a command, not a request. "We gave you a task, did we not?" said the man again. He was large, with no visible hair anywhere on his body. His eyes were intense, and his gaze made Doran uncomfortable. The two others to his left and right were indistinguishable from one another, from their red robes, to their narrow cheekbones. Doran knew from experience that they were lackeys, and that only one man on their council held the power. He spoke directly to him.

"Yes sir." His voice was emotionless, but even The Statue felt the effects of the bald man's eyes. "And I have failed. Her teammate jumped in front of my arrow. Forgive me sir."

"I was under the impression that you _never_ missed." The bald man said incredulously. "In fact, according to you reputation, you never have. Surely this isn't the first time someone tired to sacrifice themselves, to stop one of your arrows. What made _this_ special?"

Doran thought about his answer carefully. In truth, he didn't know how he had missed. He had seen the boy push The Avatar out of the way, he had used his gift to adjust the arrows path to compensate, yet, it didn't find it's mark. "The master Airbender must have interfered," he lied, "it caught me off guard."

"Why is it that you did not fire a second arrow?" demanded the lackey on the right.

"Chief Beifong, the master Airbender, and The Avatar had seen me. They would have captured me if I had stayed." Doran listed off in his monotone voice, "I thought it might serve your interests better if I were to finish my work another night, rather than be caught and stopped."

This answer seemed to annoy the lackeys, as they both spoke up, "How dare you presume to know what the interests of this council are," said the one to the right.

"We would have been much happier if you and your _partner_ would have completed the task and _perished_. Now we must be delayed, our plans are stalled because of YOU. " finished the other one.

"You _know_ what happens to those who fail us." continued the first, "We needed you to succeed in order to continue. The weapon will soon be-" the man in the middle slammed his had down on the table, cutting off the man, before he said too much.

The second man motioned to the pale-faced man, "Faust, Show The Statue to our lovelies." He turned back to Doran, "Maybe then, you will see what it means to fail us."

Doran felt panic grip his chest, he started to weigh the odds of being able to overtake the pale-faced man named Faust. He knew that by reputation he didn't stand a chance, but even death was preferred over what he had been sentenced to.

"Councilman Granis, Councilman Gryves," said the bald man, waving Faust away with his hand, "surely this man speaks the truth. If he had stayed, they would have captured him. If they had captured him they would have questioned him." The two other men looked upset, but said nothing. Doran wanted to feel relief, but knew that he wouldn't until he was safely back above ground. "And we don't want that, do we?" Doran shook his head, " Though, out of curiosity, what would you have said if they _had _captured you?"

Doran's answer was quick and honest, "Nothing, sir. To betray the council is a highest offence."

"Indeed it is." He waved a servant over to pour him more wine, "We are an order of secrecy. Our power lies in the fact that, to everyone else, we are invisible." He took a long drink, making Doran sit in silence. "But are we invisible, Doran Long?"

Doran froze. No one knew his real name. It was a secret that he had buried a long time ago. Less then 5 people in the world had ever known it, and he had personally silenced 3 of them. His shock almost made him forget to answer, "No sir." He managed to spurt out, his inflection changing almost imperceptibly.

"Goood, and since we are not _truly_ invisible, we must act it, or we are lost. Tell me, how does one act invisible."

"I don't know sir."

"With fear." The bald man motioned to another servant, who brought Doran a folder, printed on it's cover was the black bird stamp. Doran opened it, and clenched his teeth. Inside, were pictures of a young girl, no older than sixteen. She was dressed in rags and was chained to a table, her face was covered with cuts and bruises and the latest Republic City Daily was resting on her stomach. "Don't forget why you're here for us Doran." The bald man's voice had turned sour, revealing the anger in his voice, "You said, you have failed. You could not be more right." He took a large bite of meat from his plate and pointed it at Doran with his fork, "If you were smart, and I believe you are, then I wouldn't fail us again." His eyes were dark and intense on Doran, "Or next time, she'll _wish_ we were as merciful as we were today."

Doran put his hands under the table so that the council wouldn't see him clench his fists. "I wont fail you again…" he manage to say, barley able to control his voice through his anger.

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that. Can you say it one more time?"

"I wont fail you again… sir"

"Much better. That will be all Doran, we will send you instructions for your next task. Your are dismissed." Doran got up and left the room. "Oh Doran… Leave the folder please." Though his demeanor was statuesque, inside his mind, Doran was screaming.

When he left the red door, Faust wordlessly gave back his weapons. He slung his bow over his shoulder, and began to traverse the maze of tunnels beneath Republic City. He made it five minutes, before what he saw in the folder overwhelmed him. 'The Statue' leaned against a wall, closed his eyes, and broke down. His body was racked with sobs.


End file.
